Tagine Restaurant

I’ve never been to Morocco. I’ve been to London a few times. It’s all relative, I understand. When I was much younger, my typical London stay would always involve a West End theatre night followed by Moroccan food. Had my heart set on North African food as I’ve been to East Africa and I much prefer Northern African food over East African food. So there was my qualifier.
Having said that, we came to Tagine for a special meal to celebrate a very special occasion, which we’d often do abroad as of late, mostly in France and Germany but this year we ended up in the U.K.
Balham is an awesome neighborhood. So many chic shops but they were all closed for a Sunday evening. Took Northern Line to get here and it’s a short 3 minute walk from the station. Ordered the chicken tagine, mixed mezza for two so everyone had something to try, I think it’s an easy solution if you are not an expert in Moroccan food. Then finally tagine lamb. It’s named after tagine, why stray from it?
It’s a BYOB. So bring your own wine. Please. The dessert was on the simple side but they provided Moroccan tea for the table on the house, lovely and tastier than the Lebanese version. I liked it more.
The restaurant played hipster dance music from Morocco and I must admit, it was quite happening. I wish I took down the record name, I’m sure I’d be able to find it on Soundcloud later.
The most notable thing about the restaurant besides the very good food was the décor. The mixture of beautiful lighting hanging off the ceiling was mesmerizing. I took as many photos of the lighting as the food.
Over the course of last 18 years since I’ve been coming to London, finding good Moroccan restaurants has always been one of my must to-​dos. This did not disappoint. The entire restaurant had a very authentic ethnic feel to it, which in my mind is something I’ve not seen before in the States. It’s certainly not touristy like the West End, so it was easier to enjoy the meal.
When in London, find unusual things to eat. Don’t go for fish n chips, try Moroccan. Guaranteed to be far more superior here than San Francisco. Sorry Aziza SF.

I really enjoy this place! Not only do you feel like you’re in Morocco its BYO and the food is great!
Food is really good, and it’s a great alternative for birthday celebrations and they have a large area downstairs you can use if you have a large group!

Came here for a friends birthday dinner last night. Had a good atmosphere and was good for a big group of friends to catch up.
The food was fairly good. Would have been nice for the wait staff to offer some recommendations on what’s good to share and what mains are the heroes.
It is also byo which is an added bonus

Zizou Tagine is a great place to spend the night if you feel like escaping the English weather!
They accommodated our very large group (30 people) and their staff has been really warm and patient. Food was good but not unforgettable, I am actually giving 4 stars mainly for the charm of the place, the staff and the fact that it is a BYOB restaurant.
We went there for a friend’s birthday and brought our own cake, but the staff made it super special: they turned the lights off, brought the cake to the table with the candles on, and this waitress came in the room playing drums — very entertaining and full of charm!
A great place that I would recommend for a relaxed dinner with friends.

Its tradition it seems to come here for Ria’s birthday. What a lovely restaurant. So authentic to Morocco as well. This time I had the lamb cous cous. Delightful. The lamb slides off the bone with such ease and tastes epic. The yellow olives that come to the table are delightful! Also had the lamb sausages for starter and boy it was tasty as hell!!! You gotta check this place out!

Spent a lovely birthday evening here, with a group of about 20. BYOB was a big attraction, and went down very well with me and my party!
the restaurant was packed, with another birthday group sat near us, and it was easy to see why. Everyone in my group loved their food, I had a delicious sausage starter which tasted incredible, followed by a couscous dish. I was quite drunk when the couscous arrived, but I remember being pretty chuffed with it at the time, even if I cant exactly remember the flavours, and it was a hefty portion for a very fair price.
staff were very on the ball and accommodating, they even gave me a free Fez hat as a birthday present! I think the bill came to about £300 incl service for TWENTY of us, so very easy on the wallet! all in all, an excellent place. nice and informal, delicious food, good prices and BYOB. when I stumbled out 3 hours after I was drunk, satisfied and really happy I spent my birthday meal there. Cheers for having us Tagine!

really good moroccan food. i had the lamb shank and the meat just fell off the bone. enjoyed the hommus and bread too and great that it is byo. will definately be going back soon!

Lovely place. They do shishas with various flavour tobaccos. I can’t stand smoking but this was actually really yummy and fun to enjoy with a group of friends. Overall the ambience, individuality and food at this restaurant make it a real winner.

I save my 5’s for perfection and would have given Tagine a 5 until I got my main, which was very good but not a 5. However, my boyfriend would give it a five. We started with a mixture of dips and pita bread. The dips were humous (some of the best I’ve had), roasted red peppers, beet root, and lamb sausages. I got vegetable tagine and my boyfriend got lamb tagine. His lamb was perfect and fell right off the bone. I thought my vegetables could use a bit more seasoning but were beautifully steamed.
The environment is very authentic. No light in the room matches another in a kind of creative, colorful, Moroccan way.
They also have a good hookah service that many people seemed to be enjoying. However, they only offered three basic flavours.
P. S. It’s a bring your own beer joint

A great find in Balham. I went there with a group of 4 on an un-​crowded Wednesday night. The place hit all the right notes. Very good Moroccan-​style dishes, nice staff, good atmosphere. We weren’t aware of the BYOB, but it wasn’t an issue at all as the waitress pointed out an off license 30 sec from the restaurant with decent selection of wines. Nice one.
We had a mixed mezze starter, combining merguez meshwi, houmous, zaalouk (aubergine compote with cumin and coriander) and slatat el hamra (beetroot in cinammon and honey). These were delicious and perfect for the 4 of us.
For the mains, the lamb barkouk tagine and the zizou couscous were the best. Very flavourful and the lamb shank was superbly cooked. Don’t forget to ask for the harissa sauce if you want to spice it up as they didn’t serve it for us without asking. They also serve some excellent bread which I guess is homemade and is a great addition to the mains.
We sampled a few deserts to round it up all excellent as well.
I can see how you wouldn’t necessarily come to Tagine very often as the menu is simple, but if you want a good dining in Balham area, it should definitly be on your shortlist!
And prices are very good… (£20 per head for full 3 course meal)

I had never tried much moroccan food before coming to Tagine. I must say Tagine certainly has me addicted. An eccentric and authentic Moroccan motif takes you to another place. Hand-​blown glass lamps, low wooden chairs, highly decorative dark wood ornaments, and long red drapes make for a very cozy atmosphere. The establishment is alcohol free, but you are free to bring along your own bottle of wine with no corkage fee and enjoy a hookah pipe outside. You can buy the wine at Sainsbury’s across the street and save a lot of money on a night out. The staff is very friendly and inviting. I highly recommend giving it a try as everything I’ve had on the menu has been delicious.

A GREAT FIND IN BALHAM — Very close to Balham station (British rail and Northern line underground)
Arrived here to dine and wine, but was informed by staff that they do not sell any alcohol (Tagine is BYO).
That did not put me off, I simply liked the Moorish look of the place and was determined to give it a try.
So I took the opportunity to splash out on a bottle of wine from the legendary Château Musar (vintage 2002) which I purchased locally from Waitrose fine wine section just a short walking distance on Balham high street to compliment my North African meal here.
Requested a table outside and ordered the mixed Mezze selection.
Consisting of three vegetable options (Zaalouk– egg plant, Houmous — chick pea purée, Mechouia — grilled peppers) and one meat (Merguez Meshwi — grilled spicy lamb sausages).
What a great food/​wine pairing it turned out to be. The generous deep crimson, richly-​fruited red wine made by Gaston Hochar from the fertile high altitude Bekaa valley of Lebanon, with good acidity, silky tannins, notes of spice, figs, dates and stewed plums was the perfect match for this cuisine.
A Great restaurant just to sit out on a hot barmy evening, order some delicious Moroccan/​North African grub, sip a glass of wine from a great Château/​Estate, watch the crowd pack into the popular Bedford Arms pub opposite and dream about being transported to the peaks of the Atlas mountains… sheer bliss.
‘THE VINOTERROIRIST’ — Gvinoguru

Absolutely loved Tagine! Amazingly robust flavours, huge portions and pretty cheap. BYOB too. What more could you ask for?
The Couscous Zazzou is one of the best things I’ve had in a while.
It’s a bit of a hike for me to go here, but you can bet any time I’m in Balham, I’m going to make a stop.

A great find I must thank my fellow qypers for! Huge carved wooden doors lead into a gorgeously decorated Moroccan palace with low seating and a dozen chandeliers on the ceilinga real surprise as I was expecting something more low-​key.
Food is good and well-​priced, and service is quick and friendly. I agree that it’s not a particularly large menu, but what’s on it is done well, and portions are really generous (I dare you to polish off all the cous cous). Dusting a salad with icing sugar is a new one on me, but it worked with the chicken & almond filo pastry starter I’d picked.
A 3 course meal for two cost £50 which isn’t too bad, especially considering wine is BYO so there’s no inflated booze charge.
Will definitely be going again!

Morocco: I’ve never been but have a thousand images and ideas etched on my brain — crowded markets, silly fez hats, heat, deserts and Timothy Dalton as my least favourite James Bond…
None of this has absolutely anything to do with Tagine, a superb Moroccan restaurant in Balham that is owned and run by 3 friends from Morocco who wanted to set up a restaurant with a unique but traditional feel and recreate some authentic dishes.
I have to agree they have succeeded on all counts: the venue feels like you’re eating in a Sinbad movie — long drapes, low furniture and tables, hookah pipes outside for shisha smokers and food that if it’s not authentic then they should change Morocco’s menu!
If you’ve ever eaten cous cous and wondered why you are bothering to eat very small cubes of cardboard then I suggest you hotfoot it to Tagine sharpish and sample some that seems closer to a fluffy cloud than food! Lamb and chicken that fall of off the bone with a mere wave of a fork! In fact… I’m damn hungry just thinking about it!
The added bonus is that Tagine is BYO so your night is cheaper straight away, leaving that spare cash for some of their little Moroccan cakes and mint tea…
Altogether now lets rock the casbah… rock the casbah…

A safe choice for a cheap meal in Balham. The food is reasonably authentic (and the portions huge). The prices are good and it’s BYOB (off-​licence next door). The décor is also appealing.
On the down side, the menu is a bit limited, so once you’ve been twice there is not much more to explore, and some of the tables are cramped and squashed into awkward spaces. When I was last there on a Saturday night, there was a very noisy birthday party.
But on the whole, great value and decent food. The meze are particularly good.

Tagine is definitely one of my favourite restaurants in London. Located in Balham opposite the Bedford pub it is done out in a typically Moroccan style with mosaic tables, camel puffs to sit around and subdued lighting through lattice cut lamps. It has a den like quality and is great for a group of friends to lounge around the cushioned areas or get table by the window for a romantic date.
The food is sublime. There is a nice meze style platter for a sharing starter. For a main I had chargrilled lamb accompanied with couscous and salad. The lamb was succulent and cooked to perfection. My date had chicken tagine which was also perfectly cooked and tasted just like the tagine I remember having throughout a trip to Morocco a few years before. What’s nice about the menu at this restaurant is that there are not endless options. They stick to a few simple things and do them extremely well. There is also no way you will get stung on the wine — charging an overpriced inadequate bottle is often a pitfall at many restaurants but here its bring your own and they don’t even charge corkage!
If you don’t feel like dessert there are shishas with various flavour tobaccos. I can’t stand smoking but this was actually really yummy and fun to enjoy with a group of friends. Overall the ambience, individuality and food at this restaurant make it a real winner.